From axolotls to poison dart frogs, new Aquarium of the Pacific exhibit features amphibians for all (2024)

Long Beach residents and visitors alike will soon have a chance to dive into the wild world of amphibians, thanks to a new exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The new exhibit, dubbed “FROGS: Facing a Changing World,” features more than 20 unique amphibians, from Mexican axolotls to blue poison dart frogs — and plenty of information about what threats these creatures are currently facing.

“Guests will be able to discover a newly reimagined section of the Tropical Pacific Gallery featuring frogs found in a variety of countries,” AOTP said in a Thursday, May 23 news release, “peek behind-the-scenes to watch Aquarium staff care for frogs from eggs to adults, and see a new space in Pacific Visions highlighting California and Baja frogs.”

Amphibians — including frogs, salamanders, and toads — play a vital role in various ecosystems across the world, including our own here in California, the aquarium said.

Aside from helping to keep mosquito populations in check, thus benefiting humans by reducing their risk of contracting mosquito-borne diseases, amphibians are an important food source for larger animals including birds and fish.

Frogs and other amphibians are considered indicator species, which means that they help us know what is going on within an ecosystem,” the Aquarium said, “because of their sensitivity to environmental pollutants, habitat disruption, and other factors in addition to indicating ecosystem diversity due their role in the food web.”

But despite their critical importance to myriad ecosystems and food webs generally, many amphibian populations are endangered or at risk of becoming endangered.

Climate change, of course, is among the issues impacting various amphibian populations, the Aquarium said. Droughts, wildfires, and other extreme weather events which have a profound impact on the environment, in turn, harm amphibians.

“Frogs and other amphibians are sensitive to environmental changes,” the Aquarium said, “and are often missing where climate change has impacted the ecosystem.”

Amphibians are also threatened by habitat destruction, pollution, logging, and human development, the Aquarium said.

A unique threat facing amphibians, though, is the prevalence of chytrid fungus around the world.

Frogs and other amphibians, the Aquarium said, have slick skin they use to breathe. The fungus, though, eats away at their skin — and eventually causes them to die.

Chytrid fungus has contributed to “dramatic population declines in at least 501 amphibian species, including 90 extinctions, over the past 50 years,” according to the Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, and the fungus is the leading cause of amphibian death worldwide.

Amphibians, according to the Aquarium, also face a high risk of being illegally traded as pets — another threat to their wellbeing and survival.

“Researching prior to adopting a new companion can help avoid inadvertently contributing to this global problem,” ATOP’s conservation coordinator, Erin Lundy, said. “Some ways to research include looking up the protected status of the species online, making sure the animals are bred under human care, and asking where the animal came from.”

Because AOTP is a sanctuary for animals confiscated from wildlife traffickers, they’ve seen the impacts of illegal trade on amphibians first hand.

In April 2023, for example, two young axolotls — which had been confiscated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife — were transported to the Long Beach aquarium, where the creatures arrived in poor health.

Aquarium staff, though, worked tirelessly to bring the axolotls back from the brink, and were able to do so successfully.

“The pair was successfully restored to health last summer in their behind-the-scenes area,” the news release said, “and guests to the Aquarium will be able to see them when “FROGS: Facing a Changing World” opens.”

Aside from axolotls, though, the new exhibit will also feature endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs — a native Californian species which was once the most abundant frogin the region’s high-elevation bodies of water.

The Aquarium is part of a unique partnership with the Los Angeles and Santa Ana zoos, officials from the U.S. Geological Survey, and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife which aims to help the mountain yellow-legged frog restore its population levels.

Since signing on to the project in 2021, the Aquarium has taken in hundreds of the frogs and helped raise them from tadpoles to adult age. More than 300 raised at the Aquarium have been released back into the wild since, the news release said.

Other amphibians at the new exhibit will include:

–The red-backed poison dart frog native to Peru and Ecuador, which is listed as a near-threatened species.

–The Australian magnificent tree frog, found in moist forest habitats and both rural and urban environments.

–The Sonoran Desert toad, native to southern Arizona, which are active at night during rainy seasons and found in underground areas during the summer.

–The critically-endangered Panamanian golden frog, whose coloration can range from gold to bright yellow to greenish yellow.

–The prehensile-tailed skink, found in the Solomon Islands, and the world’s largest living skink species.

The new exhibit, meanwhile, will open to the public on Friday, May 24. General admission tickets, which cost about $45 for adults and about $30 for kids under 12, include entry to “FROGS: Facing a Changing World.”